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Home race for Muroya as Red Bull Air Race adds Japan to 2018 calendar

Yoshihide Muroya of Japan performs during the finals at the third stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Chiba, Japan on June 4, 2017. –Photographer Credit:Jason Halayko/Red Bull Content Pool

The third stop of the 2018 Red Bull Air Race season will be massive, as Chiba, Japan welcomes World Champion Yoshihide “Yoshi” Muroya for his first home race since taking the title in October. Japan‘s hero is aiming for a hat trick of three consecutive wins at the seaport, but the world’s best pilots are determined to stop him. The clash commences in May.

Salzburg, Austria – Chiba has been magic for Muroya: the Team Falken pilot set a track record at the Red Bull Air Race debut in the city in 2015, earned his career-first race win there in 2016, and then clinched a repeat victory in front of ecstatic crowds last year on his way to claiming Asia’s first World Championship in the new dimension of motorsport. Already beloved by fans, Muroya’s success has elevated him to superstar status. Chiba tickets frequently sell out – with a record of 120,000 spectators packing Makuhari Beach over the 2015 race weekend alone – and demand is expected to be higher than ever for the upcoming action on 26-27 May 2018.

Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2018

Also higher than ever will be the expectations of Japan’s super fans; and adding to the pressure will be perhaps the most competitive lineup in the history of Air Racing. Among those challenging Muroya in the 14-pilot field will be two former World Champions – Kirby Chambliss of the USA and Matthias Dolderer of Germany – plus the standouts who earned the second and third steps of the overall podium in 2017, the Czech Republic’s Martin Šonka and Canada’s Pete McLeod.

Meanwhile, this season Michael Goulian from the United States has taken the early lead in the points with a win at February’s season opener in Abu Dhabi, pushing Muroya to second. And anything can happen at the next stop on the eight-race calendar, when the World Championship makes its French premiere above Cannes on 20-22 April. Then all eyes will turn to Japan, where the changing winds of Tokyo Bay will act as an additional opponent as pilots fly through the 25-meter-high Air Gates at 370kmh while sustaining forces of up to 12G.

“We want to bring Japan another World Championship at the end of this season, and we’re working very hard to make our raceplane even faster,” said Muroya. “A home race is special, and we are very happy to have the opportunity to fly in Chiba again. Yes, there’s pressure, but the support we feel from the fans always gives us a boost.“

Join the super fans: Tickets for the 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Championship are on sale now. For more information on tickets and all the latest, visit www.redbullairrace.com

Nicolas Ivanoff of France performs during the qualifying day at the third stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Chiba, Japan on June 3, 2017. –Photographer Credit:Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool

About Red Bull Air RaceCreated in 2003, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship has held more than 80 races around the globe. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship features the world’s best race pilots in a pure motorsport competition that combines speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile, lightweight racing planes, pilots hit speeds of 370kmh while enduring forces of up to 12G as they navigate a low-level slalom track marked by 25-meter-high, air-filled pylons. In 2014, the Challenger Cup was conceived to help the next generation of pilots develop the skills needed for potential advancement to the Master Class that vies for the World Championship.